Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42718810›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2026

Language comprehension in mild cognitive impairment: a bibliometric study of research trends and thematic structures.

Yao Fan, Lin Guo, Lin Fan, Jiaosheng Qiu

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yao FanSchool of Foreign Languages, Taishan University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Lin GuoSchool of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China.
Lin FanNational Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China.
Jiaosheng QiuSchool of Foreign Languages, Taishan University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: A decline in language comprehension may represent a potential indicator of progressive cognitive deterioration in people with neurodegenerative diseases, and this sign often becomes noticeable as early as the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage. This study aimed to map the knowledge domain of language comprehension research in MCI, summarize its major research patterns, and identify recent research fronts, with a view to informing early identification, assessment, and intervention in neurodegenerative diseases. Methods: A bibliometric approach was adopted. Relevant publications were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection, with the time span set from 2001 to 2025. After refining, manual checking, and deduplication, 914 articles and reviews were included. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze the publication trends, subject categories, country collaborations, co-cited references, keyword co-occurrence, co-citation clusters, and citation bursts. Scopus was used as an independent database to assess the robustness of the WoS-based findings, and a generalized additive model (GAM) was fitted to compare the annual publication trajectories derived from the two databases. Results: Research on language comprehension in MCI showed an overall increase within the study period. The WoS and Scopus datasets differed in overall publication volume but showed no statistically detectable difference in the shape of their annual publication trends. The field is mainly distributed across neurosciences, clinical neurology, geriatrics & gerontology, psychology, and linguistics. The USA plays a leading role in both publication numbers and international collaborations. The knowledge foundation of this field is largely grounded in the clinical characterization of MCI, Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnostic frameworks, and biomarker research. Major research topics are organized around the clinical and biomarker-based framing of MCI and AD, together with discourse, connected speech, semantic processing, and cognitive mechanisms of comprehension. Recent hotspots point to early language markers, ecologically valid measures, and automated approaches to detection and assessment. Conclusion: This study offers a macroscopic view of language comprehension research in MCI. Future work should pay more attention to stage-related changes, cross-linguistic variations, clearer distinctions among comprehension processes, and more reliable measures for clinical monitoring and intervention evaluation. Future reviews may also extend this work to language production and broader communicative functioning in MCI.

Indexed as

bibliometric analysisCiteSpacecognitive aginglanguage comprehensionmild cognitive impairmentVOSviewer

Identifiers

PMID42718810
PMCPMC13553494

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.